JioStar is born as Reliance-Disney merge their media assets

New Delhi: The merged entity of Reliance and Disney’s media assets was named JioStar following the completion of the merger process on Thursday.

BestMediaInfo.com on Sunday reported that the merged entity would be named Jio Star.

Nita Ambani will serve as Chairperson of the JV, with Uday Shankar stepping in as Vice-Chairperson to provide strategic guidance.

The JV will be led by three CEOs across key divisions: Kevin Vaz will oversee the entertainment sector across all platforms, Kiran Mani will manage the combined digital operations, and Sanjog Gupta will head the sports division.

In an internal email sent to the leadership team, three co-CEOs of JioStar – Kevin Vaz, Kiran Mani and Sanjog Gupta, wrote, “Today marks a defining moment in the evolution of India’s media & entertainment industry as we unite two iconic brands—Viacom18 and Disney Star—to create something truly extraordinary. We are excited to introduce JioStar, a transformative venture where each one of you is a founding member.

“Our vision for JioStar is bold: to reshape the media & entertainment landscape by making it more inclusive, interactive, and seamlessly accessible across every platform. Together, we are poised to create something that doesn’t just disrupt one industry, but redefines multiple—network entertainment, sports, digital video, OTT platforms, advertising, and more.

“This journey will not only be about what we build, but how we build it. We are committed to doing so in close partnership with a broad ecosystem of collaborators—telecom providers, cable operators, content creators, tech manufacturers, advertisers, agencies, and more. Our collective ambition is to create a thriving, innovative ecosystem that delivers new value to consumers and stakeholders alike.

“A vision of this scale and impact requires exceptional talent. To lead this charge, we are pleased to announce our leadership team, who will work closely with us to drive our mission forward,” the co-CEOs wrote.

Leadership team members are:

Alok Jain – Head of Cluster, Entertainment (Colors, Digital Hindi, Niche, Movies and Studio)

Sumanta Bose – Head of Cluster, Entertainment (Star Plus and Bharat, Bengali, Marathi and Gujarati)

Krishnan Kutty – Head of Cluster, Entertainment (South)

Ajit Varghese – Head of Revenue, Entertainment & International

Piyush Goyal – Head of TV Distribution

Rasesh Upadhyay – Rasesh will work directly with Kevin to drive Entertainment business strategy and operations.

Bharath Ram – Head of Product

Akash Saxena – Head of Technology

Shoury Bharadwaj – Head of Engineering

Vijay Seshadri – Chief Architect

Ishan Chatterjee – Head of Business, Sports Revenue, SMB & Creator

Hursh Shrivastava – Head of Partnerships

Sushant Sreeram – Head of Marketing

Gaurav Gokhale – Gaurav will work directly with Kiran to drive Digital business strategy and operations.

Ambuj Kashyap – Ambuj will work directly with Mr. Uday Shankar and partner with CEOs on strategic and business initiatives.

Rishi Gaind – Head of Human Resources

Rajat Nigam – Transition Head of IT and Media Operations

George Cherian – Head of Corporate Communications & PR

Sandeep Jain – Head of Commercial

Mukesh Mundhra – Transition Finance Head

Mani Rangarajan – Mani will work on the financial integration of both organizations as a part of the transition

Kshipra Jatana – Transition Legal Head

“To achieve our vision, we need the strength to operate and scale across multiple business streams. This will only happen if each of us challenges the status quo, pushes relentlessly for execution, and remains flexible as we learn, adapt, and evolve. An entrepreneurial mindset will be essential—embracing ambiguity, driving innovation, and being ready to pivot when necessary,” the co-CEOs wrote further.

“We are in this together to succeed. It will take time, energy, and unwavering determination. We’ll need to step out of our comfort zones, think differently, and collaborate in new ways. Change is never easy, but it is always rewarding. It requires patience, trust, and the confidence that we’re building something that will make a lasting impact,” the co-CEOs said. 

“We are on the cusp of something extraordinary. We have the right people, the right vision, and the right resources to succeed. Let’s go out there, embrace the challenge, and do some EPIC things together!”